There's plenty of cats out here that are puttin' quality music together every day. The problem is, for every cat that is dope, there are 15 who aren't. I've also noticed most San Jose rappers get their recognition in other regions...most of us don't follow trends, we do our own shit...which 86'es us from the bay scene almost every time. I get love in San Jose, and from some spots throughout the bay...but I get most of my sales and support from the South (So Cal. and the dirty), Midwest, East Coast, the UK and Japan!
About the crime rate, a lot of it is kept on the hush, but I'm personally happy to be from a place where everybody isn't killing each other on a daily basis. Where's the pride in that? (I'm from San Jo', and we smoke each other every muthafuckin day........sorry, but that's just a fuckin retarded outlook). As soon as the rest of the bay realizes that San Jo' is about MONEY, we will get our love out here. The cost of living exceeds what we make, so we have to keep our minds right 98% of the time...stay sharp, and survive. It may be hard not to get shot in some places, but it's even harder to stay focused and support yourself and your family without fuckin' up.
Oh, and it's pretty difficult to get shows and shit in your hometown when people come from other spots and fuck up all the events with gunplay or other bullshit!